GREAT OLD ONES
THE DARKEST OF THE HILLSIDE THICKETS
GREAT OLD ONE MUSIC
H. P. Lovecraft was a sci-fi/occult writer of the early twentieth century. Emulated by dozens of authors, referred to by (at least) two 80’s metal bands, and the source of many a heebie-jeebie during this reviewers late-night reading; Lovecraft also became the principal muse for The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, Abbotsford’s only one-band musical subgenre. The dedication on their 1995 CD, Cthulhu Strikes Back, says it all: “…to the memory of H.P. Lovecraft, without whom we’d be singing lame love songs.”
Musically, HPL-core is a progeny of punk and metal, but the Thickets’ unique jokeoccultism sets them apart from either parent. Lovecraft references aside, the Thickets spawn tight tunes with fantastically harmonic vocals and a surprising amount of lyrics about parasitic infestations. The 22 tracks on Great Old Ones unite two previous cassettes, Hurts Like Hell! (1992) and Cthulhuriffomania (1994). Also included are live versions of two tunes from Cthulhu Strikes Back, an amazing cover of “Walking on the Moon” by the Police, plus two unreleased studio nuggets. Rounding out the hour-long disc are perfect soundbite intros, outros, and midtros, squeezed from films worthy of being MST3Ked.
Polevaulter, OFFBEAT Magazine, April 1997